1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a helmet that is particularly well suited for cold-weather use.
2. Description of Related Art
A prior art helmet comprises a head portion that protects the head of a wearer, as a conventional helmet; a jaw shield, which is integrated with and forms a projection with the head portion and protects the lower part of the face of the wearer, more particularly the jaw; and an eye shield, which is situated between an upper front section of the head portion and an upper section of the jaw shield to protect the face of the wearer.
Due to its structure, the helmet has a small interior chamber. This interior chamber is usually insulated from the atmosphere to protect the wearer from cold air. At a certain temperature, water vapor in the humid air exhaled by the wearer will create condensation. Because the temperature of the lens of the eyeglasses of the operator wearing the helmet or the eye shield of the helmet can reach the condensation point of the breath of the wearer, water and/or ice will form on the eyeglass lens or on the eye shield.
To avoid the problem of condensation, it is possible to open the shield to allow outside air to flow into the helmet until the condensation is eliminated. This, however, presents a problem in that the wearer may be exposed to cold air, which is uncomfortable at the very least. Furthermore, the wearer has to use one hand to open the shield, which may be awkward when he or she is steering the vehicle being driven. The shield could also involuntarily close as a result of a sudden movement, which is potentially distracting. Thus, there is a need to provide a device which is capable of avoiding or eliminating the condensation created inside a full face helmet. There is a further need to provide such a device with an adjustment mechanism that can be manipulated by a wearer who is wearing gloves to protect his/her hands from the cold environment.
Prior art helmets provide some protection against the sun's rays. However, the shield of prior art helmets is either clear or tinted and adjustment of the tint is usually not possible. On a bright sunny day, the wearer of a prior art helmet also must wear tinted eyeglasses to protect himself against the intensity of light, if the shield of his helmet is clear. In changing weather conditions, the wearer may have to remove and/or replace his tinted eyeglasses (or sunglasses) as the intensity of light changes. Thus, a need has developed for a helmet with an adjustable tinted shield. Because, as discussed above, the helmet wearer typically will wear both gloves and a helmet in a cold environment, there is a need to provide a tinted shield adjustment mechanism that can be controlled by the wearer while the wearer is wearing gloves.
Helmets that are adapted for cold-weather use are commonly equipped with electrically-heated eye shields that prevent water vapor from condensing and/or freezing on the eye shield. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,694,650 and 5,500,953 illustrate two examples of such heated eye shields. In each, an electric heating element extends across the eye shield, which is pivotally or otherwise movably connected to the helmet. The eye shield includes an electric connector that connects to an external power supply via power supply leads. If the wearer is riding a snowmobile, the power supply is typically the snowmobile's battery. In these conventional heated eye shields, the power supply leads act as tethers between the eye shield and the power source and tend to disadvantageously move the heated eye shield during use. There is therefore a need to provide an electrical connection between a heated eye shield and an external power source that does not tend to move the eye shield relative to the helmet.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/075,992, which published on Aug. 8, 2002 as US 2002/0104533 A1 and is incorporated by reference herein, discloses another conventional helmet. The helmet comprises a head portion, a shield portion, and a breathing mask. The shield portion comprises a jaw shield and an eye shield. The jaw shield is pivotally connected to the head portion and can be pivoted downwardly into a closed position and upwardly into an open position. The eye shield is pivotally connected to the head portion and includes a see-through shield and a tinted shield. The tinted shield is pivotally connected to the eye shield and can be lowered inside the helmet to protect the wearer from sun rays and raised into an upper, enclosed portion of the eye shield. The breathing mask is hermetically adapted to the face of the wearer to evacuate the wearer's breath outside the helmet through breathing channels that extend laterally outwardly and rearwardly through the jaw shield.
In summary, there are several deficiencies in prior art helmets that necessitate an improved helmet design. This is especially true for the design of helmets specifically intended for cold weather use, such as for snowmobiling or the like.